Lego Super-Heroes Take Over BRICKJOURNAL Magazine in Issue #34

Shipping April 22 is BrickJournal #34, the latest issue of TwoMorrows Publishing's acclaimed magazine for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages. This 80-page full-color issue spotlights LEGO Super-Heroes, from original takes on Superman and Batman, to Sandman, Agents of SHIELD, and more. The lead feature is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of BrickNerd Studios' recentBatman Vs. Superman animated short (viewable at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP2QTXyy-D4), featuring minifigures of the two heroes squaring off in a hilarious stop-motion battle against one another.

The YouTube sensation (already at over 150,000 views) is the brainchild of Hollywood visual effects specialist Tommy Williamson, who has worked on films including Army of Darkness, Ghostbusters II, Armageddon, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Spider-Man 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Expendables 3, and Exodus, to name a few. When he's not contributing to big-budget films, he applies his talents to LEGO "brickfilms", and the success of the short film already has Williamson working on a sequel. He noted, "I continue to be stunned and pleased with the views, comments and headlines. Although I do have to admit I’m still holding out for a comment from the biggest Batman fan out there, Kevin Smith." Tommy details both his LEGO building techniques, and his animation processes, for BrickJournal readers this month.
Next up, professional minifigure customizer Jared K. Burks demonstrates what went into making his one-of-a-kind LEGO replicas of the characters from TV's Agents of SHIELD series. "As a huge fan of S.H.I.E.L.D., I was instantly taken by the show and its unique style for the agents," explained Burks. "In this article, I display the characters in minifigure form and discuss how and why I outfitted them accordingly." By going back to his foundations in decal design, and using various tricks to modify stock minifig parts, Burks has created a small army of custom figures conveying the essence of the show's main heroes and villains. The feature wraps up with an interview with the TV show's costume designer Ann Foley, an article on how to build a LEGO replica of Agent Phil Coulson's prized car Lola, and a fan's elaborately-detailed custom SHIELD helicarrier,made entirely of LEGO bricks.

BrickJournal #34 also details other top LEGO builders' versions of Batman's "Tumbler", Iron Man's Hall of Armor, a LEGO Galactus, the X-Men's "Blackbird" X-Jet, incredible LEGO busts of characters from Neil Gaiman's Sandman series, how one builder turned the LEGO "Friends" line of figures into Super "Friends", the ComicBricks Project (where builders recreate classic comic book covers out of LEGO elements), plus step-by-step instructions to build your own LEGO mini-Batmobile, and Iron Man's "Hulkbuster" armor as seen in the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron film.